Haley to the Rescue

I often wondered why Haley Barbour, the Republican Governor of Mississippi, didn't run for president in 2008. I was more astonished that he was rarely mentioned as a possible VP runningmate for John McCain, a position for which he would have been ideally suited--a governor of a Southern state with loads of Washington experience. As former chair of the RNC from 1993-97, he oversaw the GOP takeover of Congress in 1994; and as co-founder of a successful lobbying firm in 1991, he has strong connections to the GOP establishment. He also was one of the few public officials who was viewed favorably in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as Mississippi fared better relatively than Louisiana in its response and recovery efforts.

In the face of last week's electoral losses, the GOP is now turning to one of its most seasoned pros: Barbour. According to CQ, "Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will meet next week with the Senate Republican Conference to talk about regrouping and developing a strategy to stem the tide of losses the GOP has experienced the past two election cycles, according to Conference chairman Lamar Alexander."

Since the guessing game has now commenced about who in the GOP will run for president in 2012, the same old names are being bandied about: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal. My question: what about Haley? Barbour was in fact asked about 2012 recently: “Oh, man,” drawled Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, when asked about 2012 and specifically his own interest in a possible presidential run. “I’m going to tell you something. One of the worst things that can happen to the Republican Party in our effort to rebuild is for a bunch of people to start running for president. Anybody harboring that ambition needs to squelch it until after 2010. … Anybody out there running for president is undercutting what’s important. You do this against your own interest.” Sounds like a shrewd answer. Look for him to announce his candidacy shortly after the 2010 midterm election.